Title: Secretly Sincere

Author: aimee_blue

Prompt: Make Believe

Words:

Genre: Romance Drama

Rating: T

Summary: AU. An ominous presence lingers and Kagome recalls painful memories.

Sesshoumaru glanced up from his book as the tumblers in the door lock turned, announcing Kagome's arrival home. His shoulders relaxed from a tenseness he hadn't realised until she had returned to relative safety. Since the home invasion and Kagome's prophesised 'bad days' they had spent more and more time in each other's company. Her scent and presence reassured Sesshoumaru that she was unharmed, his presence soothed her worry both for his safety and for her own.

"Bankotsu thinks he's in love," Kagome confided, "and had me peer into his future to see if he's found 'the one'." She rolled her eyes disparagingly.

The conversation about Kagome's moonlighting as a fortune teller had been an interesting one and Sesshoumaru had basically ordered her to stop. She'd been livid at his perceived controlling nature, until he'd clarified that he hated the idea of her being alone with a person she hardly knew. So she'd cut her client list down to the people she knew until after they found out who was stalking them. He still didn't like it, but it turned out he hated upsetting her more than he hated not being able to tell her what to do. Compromises were made grudgingly.

Sesshoumaru scoffed. "And will it last?" he asked disinterestedly, still keeping up the facade of reading his book, as Kagome slipped her shoes off and her slippers on in the genkan.

Kagome giggled. "I had an impression of hot and passionate; he was pleased enough with that."

Sesshoumaru scowled lightly as she padded across his hardwood floor to curl up into his side on the sofa. "You shouldn't have gone," he scolded, "it was not important."

Kagome sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder tiredly; they'd had this... debate before she'd left to see Bankotsu. "He's my friend," she stressed the word and waved her hands abstractly, "he is important."

Sesshoumaru made a noise of derision in the back of his throat and pushed his hair back over one shoulder. "His issues are unimportant," he muttered sullenly.

Giggling into his shoulder, she wound a long strand of silver hair around her index finger and tugged lightly. "Sure, sure. So... did you miss me?"

"Hn," he wrinkled his nose and she kissed his throat teasingly.

"I missed you too," she cajoled before her smile morphed into a frown, "nothing happened when I was gone... did it?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head sombrely. "I was fine," he assured her.

"This weekend..." she trailed off and sagged into him, an air of melancholy plaguing her once pleasant scent. Sesshoumaru shifted uncomfortably as it permeated the air and put his book down on the coffee table.

"Kagome?"

Sighing wearily, she ploughed on. "This weekend is the anniversary of my brother's death," she confided, "Rin is... was his daughter and Mee his wife."

Sesshoumaru turned his body so she could rest his head against his chest instead of his shoulder, looping his arm around her waist and squeezing her gently.

He didn't offer her any more than silent comfort and stoic reassurance, but it was so much more comforting than the hollow words most people flung at her. 'I'm sorry' meant nothing; empty words held no ounce of comfort that this solid embrace did.

"I shall go with you to tend to the grave," he announced solemnly.

She smiled, though the effect was a little watery. "Rin will like that; she said the other day that she hasn't seen you in a while."

"How long has it been?"

"Rin was three," she mused, "so I guess it was quite a long time ago."

"To those that remember," Sesshoumaru spoke gravely, "it was yesterday."

Closing her eyes, she snuggled into his chest; grateful that he was there as they basked in each other's presence.

0-0-0

"See, simple," Kagome pointed out, dishing up the kake udon into a bowl, grinning slightly at the look of contempt he flashed the simple noodles in broth. He was still sour over his lack of culinary prowess, even now.

Moodily swirling his chopsticks around in the bowl, he played with his food instead of eating it until Kagome shoved her own chopsticks into his mouth.

The look of surprised outrage as he chewed almost against his will set Kagome into a peel of giggles and he growled at her as he swallowed.

"Wench," he grumbled, reaching to run his claws gently along her sides, sending her into paroxysms of giggles at the tickling touch.

Relief flooded his system at her easy laughter, he had not enjoyed her earlier melancholy, and her suffering plagued him.

She lifted her bowl and escaped his tickling caress to the corner of the kitchen, poking her tongue out at him teasingly.

"Minx," he uttered.

"It's not fair!" she protested, "You aren't ticklish! So you can't—"

Suddenly she cut off in the middle of her sentence, hands shaking.

Sesshoumaru was across the room in a heartbeat, pitching the bowl onto the counter so he could tilt her face up to his.

Unfocused blue eyes sought his eyes blearily.

"Kagome!" he barked, concernedly.

She jumped at the sound of her name and, all at once, crumpled into his chest, gripping his shirt as she shivered convulsively.

"Kagome?" he asked, brushing her hair back soothingly as he cradled her to him protectively. His instincts roared up; demanding that he destroy the person who made the scent of fear cloy her own naturally beautiful scent.

"It's fine," she murmured, "it was nothing, just the feeling again..."

"Do not employ censure," he warned.

"It feels like," she frowned and buried her face into his chest. "It feels like..."

She trailed off for a moment and sighed.

"When I was little I used to think that my 'feelings' were just make believe, that they didn't mean anything," she admitted, "but the day dad died of a heart attack I was violently depressed all day – before anyone had heard the news."

Sesshoumaru's embrace tightened until it was hard to breathe but somehow it gave Kagome strength to continue.

"This feels just like that... but worse. This time it feels malicious."